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In the summer, winger Kyle Wellwood signed a contract that doubled his salary from $700,000 to $1.6 million, just reward for a career season.

Now he finds himself on a line with four-time, 30-goal scorer Olli Jokinen, who the other day said he was amazed at Wellwood’s ability and smarts.

“It was really nice,” Wellwood said of the praise. “It’s nice to make a good impression on guys on our team and the veterans that are going to carry the load for us. I feel pretty fortunate. He’s been a big scorer in the league for a lot of years.”

Wellwood and Jokinen are teamed with Evander Kane, who led the Jets with 30 goals last season, raising the possibility the previously-maligned Wellwood could be skating on what’ll be the team’s top line, or at least line 1-A.

“This day and age, you need a number of lines to play well, especially with the five-on-five game nowadays,” Wellwood said. “You’ve got to be a good offensive and defensive line. We’ve got a good mix of that.”

With 47 points on 18 goals (both career highs) and 29 assists, Wellwood ranked fifth in Jets scoring a year ago, while posting a respectable plus-3 rating.

With two shooters to set up, the 29-year-old should be able to at least match those numbers.

Kyle Wellwood living large on top line with Jokinen

In the summer, winger Kyle Wellwood signed a contract that doubled his salary from $700,000 to $1.6 million, just reward for a career season.

Now he finds himself on a line with four-time, 30-goal scorer Olli Jokinen, who the other day said he was amazed at Wellwood’s ability and smarts.

“It was really nice,” Wellwood said of the praise. “It’s nice to make a good impression on guys on our team and the veterans that are going to carry the load for us. I feel pretty fortunate. He’s been a big scorer in the league for a lot of years.”

Wellwood and Jokinen are teamed with Evander Kane, who led the Jets with 30 goals last season, raising the possibility the previously-maligned Wellwood could be skating on what’ll be the team’s top line, or at least line 1-A.

“This day and age, you need a number of lines to play well, especially with the five-on-five game nowadays,” Wellwood said.